Clarée sundial tour by VAE

This dial of the famous Zarbula cadranier is located on the facade of the Mallinier house in the hamlet of La Vachette. Dated from 1840 and covering an even older dial. It was restored by Evelyne Rey-Peyrot in 1994.This sundial is a good example of the Zarbula style. The trompe-l'oeil, the faux marble, the exotic birds are features elements of this Piedmontese dialer having made several solar dials in the Briançonnais.

This dial had a hectic history. Originally painted by Zarbula and repainted in 1954, we see only the original dial, the exotic bird. This dial also has an originality: Its motto in French is in local dialect.On the sundial is written: "La vita es gaïro, Ùn ris, Ùn breath, Ùn weeping". "Life is a little thing, a laugh, a breath, a tear" according to a verse by Frédéric Mistral. The original dial (1852) was repainted in ochre in 1954, in particular erasing the original motto: "O Sun, thou appear, thou smile, thou console the earth." It was restored in 1994 by Évelyne and Norbert Peyrot, but without being able to revert to the changes of 1954. No signature is visible, but the exotic bird, characteristic of Zarbula, makes it attribute to it. This Piedmontese artist, enjoying a solid reputation to the point of being copied, has, from one valley to the other, expressed his talent to a clientele of owners "to the fact of things". Source : La Vachette in Val des Prés /apartment to rent in the restored farmhouse, on which is painted this sundial.

This dial had a hectic history. Originally painted by Zuarbula and repainted in 1954, we see only the original dial, the exotic bird. This dial also has an originality: its motto in French and in three.This dial includes all the attributes of the weaver’s trade: - the wagtail holding a linen thread in its beak, delimiting the time table of the dial - the time lines represented by knitting needles - the spinning wheel that was once used to spin wool, hemp, and linen, - and the flax flower once cultivated in the valley to make fabric It takes up a tradition that was once very followed: at the top right, we can see a wagtail resting on a stone painted trompe l'œil. On this stone, it says: «W R D». In fact, there are two interlaced V’s, and that means: "Vive Roselyne D", long live Roselyne! This tradition comes to us from Italy, where the 2 intertwined mean 'Evviva'. We will also notice the pretty blue and gray facade; this one was painted at the same time as the dial, with the stones in trompe l'œil at the corner of the wall.

This elegant Louis XVI-style clock in the hamlet of Les Alberts dates from 1830 and was restored by Evelyne Rey-Peyrot in 1994.This dial bears the motto “It's always time to do good.” Several details are worth noting: - the large oval medallion in red ochre that frames the hour table - the floral garland that surrounds it (botany was fashionable under Louis XVI) - the green ribbon bow at the bottom The hours written in Roman numerals, the crescent moon in the center of the dial, which replaces the traditional sun, and the “M” on the crescent moon, the initial of “Moullet,” the name of the dial's owner, are the other decorative elements. For the record, to the left of the “M” there was an “H,” the initial of Mr. Moullet's first name, which was not rewritten when the dial was repainted. This dial bears two dates: The first date is September 21, 1830. In 1830, the Louis XVI style (in vogue from 1774 to 1789) was no longer fashionable, but in the Alps, fashions and artistic trends always arrived a little late. This is why the Louis XVI style can still be found nearly 40 years after the king's death. The second date is May 11, 1934. This is the date on which the dial, which was in poor condition, was repainted. Repainting a dial means not only redoing the colors but also changing its decoration. In this case, the floral garland was changed. Finally, in 1984, the clock face underwent a complete restoration. The floral garland was restored to its original state, with nothing removed and nothing added to the decoration. The date 1934 was retained because it is part of the clock face's history.

This dial had a hectic history. Originally painted by Zuarbula and repainted in 1954, we see only the original dial, the exotic bird. This dial also has an originality: its motto in French and in three.This dial in the shape of a schoolboy’s notebook that is peeling off, evokes both learning to read and write and the passage of time.

This dial had a hectic history. Originally painted by Zuarbula and repainted in 1954, we see only the original dial, the exotic bird. This dial also has an originality: its motto in French and in three.Dating from 1815, it is engraved on a green marble plate and embedded above the entrance door of a house facing south. He is the exception that confirms the rule: most of the sundials from Briançonnais are frescoed because the colors are easy to carry, and stone is an expensive material and difficult to work with, hence the small size of this dial! Its creator is unknown. It is a dial called "reported"; not directly engraved on the facade, the reported dials are rather rare in the Hautes-Alpes, there are more painted dials, this is directly related to the tradition of mural painting, which constitutes a form of economic decor. We will find more dials engraved in the north of France and in the south on limestone. Its motto states: 'From the sun to the shadow,' The words of the maxim are not all of the same size, larger at the top. It is decorated with simple geometric shapes (straight lines, right angles), neat patterns: this decoration recalls the Empire style of the time of Napoleon the First. 1815, the year of creation of the dial, is precisely the date of the extreme end of the reign of the Emperor. The embedded stone on the left bears the inscription 'W J LV 1809': it is a very widespread custom in the Briançonnais, most houses often have above their door an embedded plate in which letters and a date are engraved; the W is actually 2 entwined V, abbreviation of the Italian word vive abbreviation of evviva, a very popular symbol at the time of the Revolution; The letters "JLV" are the initials of the owner J.L. Voiron, and the date is that of the construction of the house. This custom is believed to come from Italy. The stone bench to the left of the front door also bears an inscription: Jean Voiron, 1828.

The sundial at Val-des-Prés Town Hall was created in 2005 by Evelyne and Nobert PEYROT, a couple of sundial makers from Plampinet. With its neoclassical decoration, this sundial features the motto of the Republic, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,” and the village coat of arms.Like many modern clock faces, this one refers to the building on which it is located: Val-des-Prés Town Hall. The trompe l'oeil architecture of the clock face reflects the solemnity of the place: a stone base and cornice, pilasters or false pillars on the sides, and a semicircular pediment create a neoclassical setting. The motto of the French Republic, the faux marble, and the banner wrapped around the cornice complete this formalism. This sundial also features signs of modernity: - first, the local flower, the martagon lily, represented in scrolls on the pilasters. - the municipality's logo, featuring larch trees, is depicted at the top. Its function as a sundial remains clearly visible with the evening star and crescent moon in the center of the dial, the hours in Roman numerals, and the equinoctial line.

This Louis XV style or Regency style dial, would have been painted by Hippolyte Laurençon, a local painter who lived from 1754 to 1827 in Plampinet.Declining from the afternoon, engraved and painted on plaster with lines encircled in the band, this dial is ornamented with scrolls in the shape of shells and the hours painted whimsically. Painted in the Louis XV style, the scrolls in shell forms refer to the Rocaille style (1710.1750): shapes and derivatives of shell elements, shells, concretions, including a stylized treatment of the shell spiral with undulations and windings. The motto: "Hora ne te fallat hora" represents a play on words between ora (verb orare pray) and hora (time) and means "Pray that last hour does not take you". It was then restored in 1869 by the Club du Vieux Manoir.

This engraved and painted dial on the stucco facade of Saint-Sébastien Church is the work of local painter Hippolyte Laurençon, who lived in Plampinet from 1754 to 1827 and also created several paintings and restored frescoes in the church.Dated from 1823 and restored by the Club du Vieux Manoir in 1984, this dial echoes the dial of the previous Belle house: it is painted in the Louis XV style, with ornaments in the "Rocaille" style: shell-shaped scrolls, and the hours painted in a whimsical way. This style, this dial, is found until 1824 whereas in the rest of France, this style had already aged. The Briançonnais enserred in its mountains only accepted late fashions and tastes from elsewhere. The motto: "Remember your last hour and you will never fish" Story of the mistake: originally the artist wanted to mark "remember YOUR time.." ... now in 1984 during the restoration of the dial, specialists noticed that the DE was hidden by a package of lime, the artist having wanted to correct his mistake; because it is said to remember "something" but to remember something. In order to remind this small correction, the restorers have decided to leave a half of the DE visible. The colors are predominantly ocher yellow, and black. Ochre is the basic pigment for wall painting as well as sundials; 4 basic colors: yellow ochre and red ochre, white silver (prepared lead carbonate by pouring vinegar over lead), black (calcined bone or charcoal) these 4 colors allow contrast effects and were inexpensive. Higher up, we distinguish on the face of the bell tower the remains of sundial tables on which two clocks were later inserted.

This fairly recent sundial, colored in the shape of a schoolbag, stands on the face of the old school in the hamlet of Ville Basse.Painted in 1991 by Evelyne Rey-Peyrot, it was created in collaboration with the students of Névache, as was the one painted on the front of the Névasport store, the former school in the hamlet of Ville-Haute. The school theme is very present here, with the timetable in the shape of a schoolbag and the motto “There is no time limit on learning.”

This dial of recent invoice, declining in the morning, painted on the facade of the Névasport store, building of the old school of Névache - Ville Haute, was made in 1991 by Evelyne Rey-Peyrot in consultation with the students of Névache.The iconography and inscriptions, a puzzle with warm colors, with in the frame the numbers from 1 to 10 and all the letters of the alphabet were chosen by the students of the school: the children indeed voted to choose the shapes, the colors, the drawing; the composers intervened every Saturday for 5 months to work on this theme, the children also put into practice various elements of their program (mathematics, history, time and hour, graphics, painting, tracing of time lines with a computer program and use of natural pigments. The iconography here echoes another dial, in the shape of a schoolbag, present on the old school of Névache hamlet of Ville-Basse, whose motto is "Il n'y a pas d'heure pour apprendre".

The Zarbula sundial is one of the most beautiful solar dials in the Clarée valley. Never restored, it presents itself as the dialer Giovanni Franseco Zarbula painted it in 1843.This famous Piedmontese cadranier produced many dials in the Briançonnais between 1833 and 1870, among the most beautiful in the department; The sundials of Zarbula have a very rich decoration. The frame, painted in trompe-l'œil, perfectly simulates perspective, with the multiplication of right angles and light and dark tones of the same color. On the frame are placed two exotic birds that peck a bunch of grapes. Their anatomy is inspired by several different birds, for example the peacock’s long tail and the ibis’s narrow arched neck. Zarbula perhaps found her models in natural history books. Another characteristic of Zarbula is the background of the dial in faux marble. On this faux-marbre, it is written at the top the year of completion of the dial: 1843. In the lower part, there are two inscriptions: - "Z.G.F." which means Zarbula Giovanni Francesco. This is the signature of Zarbula - And "J.R." corresponding to the initials of the owner of the house, Joseph Roux. As in La Vachette, the time table has rounded Arabic numerals (look at the loop of 5, 6, 2), and the M of noon. A huge solar disk occupies the central part. From this disc leave the arrows that designate the hours: their empennage is also typical of Zarbula. The motto gives voice to the dial: once again, the message is severe. "Without the sun, I am nothing, and you, without God, you can do nothing." Finally, under the frame, let’s not forget the line of equinoxes. The most attentive ones may have already noticed the traces of the ruler and the compass that appear in the solar disk. The low degradation of colors has the advantage of showing us Zarbula’s work. In fact, this dial is in excellent condition, even though it has never been restored! Cette bonne conservation est due notamment à la technique de la fresque, que Zarbula maîtrisait parfaitement. L'orientation sud-est du cadran, le balcon au-dessus et le bâtiment voisin ont également favorisé sa conservation.

The new sundial at Les Airelles serves both as a hotel sign and as a solar time display. Made by Evelyne and Norbert PEYROT, sundial makers from Névache.The sundial's motto "Obliviscere malarum, profer optima" means "Forget the bad hours, prolong the best". It has a modern function: it serves as a sign for the hotel, while at the same time giving the local solar time. The hour table is encased in a ribboned ring, and decorated with an acanthus-leaved thistle or carline. The lower part features the fruit that gave the establishment its name: cranberries. The upper frieze features yellow cranberries with rounded blue acanthus leaves. Completed in 1997, the sundial was painted using the fresco technique of yesteryear. They also rendered the façade in a beautiful yellow ochre, and painted the door and window surrounds in trompe l'oeil, as well as the quoins, which simulate cut stone.

This unmissable clock face on the façade of one of the first houses in the hamlet of Ville-Haute, with its architecture typical of Briançon houses, is striking for its size and elegance.Framed in wood, this monochrome dial from 1885 catches the eye with its simplicity and elegance. Drawn with broad black charcoal strokes, it features delicate scrolls and plant motifs. The lanceolate polar style with an eyelet (a spear-shaped style pierced at the end) is inserted between a crescent moon and a star, reminding us that only the sun gives life to this dial. The initials at the top are undoubtedly those of the owner of the house.

The clock face of the bell tower of the church of Saint Marcellin would probably be attributed to the famous Piedmontese dial maker from the 19th century, Giovanni Francesco Zarbula, but unfortunately it is not signed.Restored in 1991 by the Peyrot family on the occasion of the restoration of the bell tower. The typical style of the Zarbula dial maker is characterized by a frame with unhookings, an illusion of perspective and the sun with its undulating rays at the centre of the style is clearly present here, but the dial is not signed with the letters G.Z.F that are usually found on his works.

This elegant sundial is located on the facade of a magnificent and imposing house in the hamlet of Ville-Haute. Located just behind the chapel of Saint Anthony, it borders the river Clarée.This morning declining dial dates from 1843. Covered with white whitewash, it was restored in 1988 by Evelyne Ray-Peyrot: we see on the top of the ochre-coloured band the numbers: 19 on the left and 88. Decorated with two baskets of colorful flowers on its lower part. The lines indicating the hours are said 'arrowed' at the end, the style, in an arrow, slightly twisted is called polar, and is equipped with a leg. The motto of the dial 'VALE HORA? means 'Hail, Hour'.

Here is a beautiful modern sundial made in 1998. Its creators signed their names in the upper right corner: Evelyne and Norbert Peyrot, the valley's sundial makers, and the school children.Here is a beautiful modern sundial made in 1998. Its creators signed their names in the upper right corner: Evelyne and Norbert Peyrot, the valley's sundial makers, and the school children. Of course, the sundial is about school. The hour lines are colored pencils, and the students' work is represented by a pen, inkwell, and lines from a school notebook. Finally, the motto nicely sums up the purpose of a school: “Open your notebook and discover the world.” The children chose the design for the sundial, came up with the motto, and each climbed up the scaffolding to paint a small section of the sundial !

The Refuge's double sundial is the only one of its kind in the Clarée Valley! With two dials, facing east and south, it tells the time all day long.The east facade has the morning sundial, while the south wall has the afternoon sundial. This allows the solar time to be read throughout the day. These two corner sundials date back to 1740, one of which was repainted in 1932. The motto is written in Latin: “Ad solem vertitur umbra, forte tua.” This can be translated into English as: “The shadow is turned by the sun; perhaps this is your last hour.” The decoration is similar to the Regency style, which was in vogue from 1715 to 1723, when the Kingdom of France was ruled by the regent Philippe d'Orléans. The hour table is framed by yellow ochre curves and volutes. In the lower part, there are foliage scrolls and stylized flower buds between each volute.